Journey of a New Grandmother

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It is not always as easy as we would like to have time with our grandchildren. My little grandson, who was born premature, spent his early months in NICU where visits were limited to protect him and other children from infection during the flu season and just because he was fragile. After he went home, there were many professionals coming in and out and Nurses in the home. So a little Premie has a full social schedule already. Grandparents have to be patient and wait for the best times to visit. It has been easier as he has gotten older. He has been growing and getting stronger. He is walking and recently started preschool. Now something completely out of our control has happened, the Caronavirus epidemic.

My husband and I realize we need to stay away from our grandson because we do not want to inadvertently bring infection to him even though we have no symptoms. It is hard knowing we can’t see him as freely right now but we know it is the right thing to do. A good way to visit is through Skype or Zoom. We are able to see and hear our grandson and his parents, our son and daughter-in-law. I use my computer but you can use your cell phone as well.

I started this blog thinking I would have lots to talk about but soon realized that I did not want to share my grandchild’s life with everyone. I want to be sensitive to privacy. So I will try to write about grandmothers and grandchildren in general. It is a different relationship, more distant than mother. I think my grandson thinks of me as a friendly visitor who knows a lot of his favorite songs, but sings them a bit off-key.

‘Grandma’s Favorite’ by Georgios Jakobides (1853–1932)

The image of grandmother has changed. Grandmothers nowadays look younger.

My grandson recently turned 18 months old. Because he was born very early, a micro-preemie, his developmental age is around 14 months old. He is now practicing standing with the support of his parents, nurses, and some of the furniture. He is small but very strong. He had to have a tracheostomy because having a tube in his airway in the hospital caused some damage to his trachea. The damage has since been repaired but he is not quite ready to get rid of the trach tube. That is the next thing to happen and we are all looking forward to it so he can talk and we will be able to hear his beautiful voice.

Earlier days at Children’s Hospital

Mommy love

Full of energy

Father and son

Hanging out with Daddy

Beautiful family

It will be a wonderful day when I can hear him call me Mèmè or Grandma. ❤

This weekend we are celebrating Passover and Easter with our little grandson. He is a little bundle of energy, smiles, and love. He will be joining us for dinner and I am looking forward to spending some time with him again. Wishing you a Happy Passover, Happy Easter, and Happy Spring all bundled together.

Stream of Consciousness Saturday is hosted by Linda G Hill. The prompt word for today is ‘bun’. “Find a word that contains “bun” or use it as a word all by itself.”

He is now 16 months old but his adjusted age due to prematurity is about 12 ½ months. So his developmental age is that of a 1 year old. He is sitting up but still working on standing. He was born very early but he is a little warrior and is very generous with hand clapping, high fives, and toothly smiles.

Here is an adorable photo (below) of him face-timing with his Daddy for the first time.

So glad to have the chance to spend time with my grandson today. Not only can he perform “Happy Baby pose” like a pro he will give me several high fives. He is not partial to long naps though. One of his nurses was trying to get him to go to sleep the other day and she would close her eyes to show him what she meant. He happily closed his eyes in response. This went on for a couple of times and he would laugh. He liked that new game. He has so much energy that I get tired just watching him in motion.

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